FAMED LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT THOMAS WOLTZ TO SPEAK AT WESTMONT COLLEGE GLOBAL LEADERSHIP CENTER “CULTIVATING HOPE IN DAMAGED LANDSCAPES”

The Garden Club of Santa Barbara is presenting a free public event, “Cultivating Hope in Damaged Landscapes,” by one of America’s most distinguished landscape architects, Thomas Woltz, on Tuesday, March 12 at 5:30 p.m. at Westmont College’s Global Leadership Center, 955 La Paz Road in Montecito.

Mr. Woltz leads his firm, Nelson Byrd Woltz, in the design of public parks around the world that integrate beauty and function with restoration ecology and biological systems. Particularly relevant to our time and place, many of Woltz’s most prominent works began with damaged land. Out of the damage, he and his team created places of honor and memory, beauty, function and spirited stewardship. Indeed, Mr. Woltz cultivates hope.

Most notable of his achievements is Flight 93 Memorial Park. His design transformed the landscape into a place of healing, both for environmental damage caused by former coal mining and as a place of catharsis for honoring the crew and passengers who sacrificed their lives on 9/11.

Mr. Woltz is in high demand, both as a landscape architect and speaker, and his interest in coming to Montecito rests on our need to use the devastating events of last winter as an opportunity to think anew and ambitiously as our community rebuilds, replants and redesigns those areas lost in our natural disaster.

We in the Garden Club feel that our community can benefit from the inspiration and vision Mr. Woltz offers. This is our gift at a time when we all can use extra encouragement.

Admission is free, but seating is limited, and reservations required. Please RSVP to gardenclubofsantabarbara@gmail.com by March 1.